This chive and onion cream cheese is a smooth, savory spread made with softened cream cheese, fresh chives, and onion powder for classic deli-style flavor. It’s an easy flavored cream cheese recipe that works beautifully on bagels, sandwiches, wraps, and snack boards.
Gather This
You only need a total of five simple ingredients to make this chive and onion cream cheese. A full list of ingredients with measurements for this recipe is available in the printable recipe card below.
- Cream cheese – You want this to be softened to be able to easily incorporate the other ingredients. I also like to use full fat cream cheese, but you can also use reduced fat.
- Half and half
- Onion powder
- Coarse kosher salt
- Fresh chives
How to Make Chive and Onion Cream Cheese (Step-by-Step)
You can have your new favorite flavored cream cheese ready to smear in no time!
- Dissolve salt and onion powder in half and half. In a small bowl, combine the half and half, onion powder and salt. Stir and allow to sit long enough for the dry ingredients to dissolve.
- Whip cream cheese. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large food processor, whip the cream cheese until smooth.
- Pour in half and half mixture and chives. Add the half and half mixture and blend until smooth. By hand, fold in the fresh chives.
- Chill. Transfer to a container with a lid and chill for 30-60 minutes before serving to make it a better spreadable consistency.
Tips for Smooth, Spreadable Cream Cheese
While this chive and onion cream cheese is a cinch to make, I do have some tips for success.
- Use fully softened cream cheese – Soft cream cheese whips much more evenly and helps prevent lumps. It also allows the other ingredients to incorporate nicely.
- Dissolve the onion powder fully – Letting the onion powder and salt dissolve into the half in half is what prevents a gritty cream cheese. We’ve tested this recipe again and again, and found that using this method provides the creamiest, smoothest cream cheese.
- Fold in chives by hand – Instead of using a mixer, fold the chives in by hand to keep there texture and structure more in tact.
- Chill before serving – Chilling briefly help the flavors to marry together and the texture to be better to spread on bagels and sandwiches.
Ways to Use It
This chive and onion cream cheese is so good, I could honestly eat it with a spoon- no judgement! But here are some more practical ways to use it.
- On bagels
- In wraps
- On breakfast sandwiches
- In pinwheels
- On crackers
- With celery sticks
- On cucumber rounds
- For tea sandwiches
- In baked potatoes
- On smoked salmon crackers
You can also use it as a base for savory dips that call for cream cheese, or use it as a sandwich sprerad.
More Savory Spreads and Sauces
If you know me, you know how much I love a homemade sauce. Here are some of my favorites.
Chive and Onion Cream Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon half and half
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh chives thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the 1 tablespoon half and half, ½ teaspoon onion powder and 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt. Stir and allow to sit for 5 minutes for the dry ingredients to dissolve.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large food processor, whip the 8 ounces cream cheese until smooth.
- Add the half and half mixture and blend until smooth.
- By hand, fold in the snipped 2-3 tablespoons fresh chives.
- Transfer to a container with a lid and chill for 30-60 minutes before serving to make it a better spreadable consistency.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Notes
Nutrition
